September 5, 2017
Reading Partners Colorado Delivers Strong Student Impact Results and Aims to Do More in 2017-18
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Margie Thirlby
Executive Director, Reading Partners Colorado
206.992.5512 | margie.thirlby@
READING PARTNERS COLORADO DELIVERED STRONG STUDENT IMPACT RESULTS IN THE 2016-17 SCHOOL YEAR
The early literacy nonprofit looks for more community tutors in 2017-18
(Denver, CO) September 5, 2017 — In the 2016-17 school year, Reading Partners continued to build on its history of successfully advancing early literacy in the Colorado region. A national nonprofit organization, Reading Partners collaborates with community volunteers and local public schools to provide students in under-resourced schools with the proven, individualized reading intervention they need to read at grade level by fourth grade. Reading Partners collaborates with teachers and principals at local public elementary schools to identify students reading behind grade level and provide them with personalized literacy instruction in a dedicated “reading center” space at their school.
2016-17 school year results were strong
Each year, Reading Partners issues student impact reports for the national organization and for each of its 14 respective regions across the country. The impact reports for the 2016-17 school year have recently been posted on readingpartners.org and include the following highlights.
- In the Colorado region:
- 556 students were matched with 738 community volunteers at 9 partner schools who delivered a total of 22,796 tutoring sessions over the course of the year.
- Among Reading Partners’ youngest students in Colorado, 90% mastered key foundational reading skills needed to read at grade level.
- Based on survey responses, 100% of principals report improved school-wide reading progress, 99% of teachers report Reading Partners is valuable to their school and 95% of volunteers were satisfied with their Reading Partners experience.
- Learn more about Reading Partners’ impact in Colorado here.
- Learn about Reading Partners’ national impact here.
“Reading Partners Colorado had a fantastic 2016-17 school year,” said Reading Partners Colorado’s Executive Director, Margie Thirlby. “In addition to exceeding our key programmatic and fundraising goals, we are thrilled to welcome a new school partner during the 2017-18 school year: Joe Shoemaker. As we prepare for our program launch on September, we are thrilled to welcome both new and returning tutors to our organization and host our 2nd Annual Road to Reading Fundraiser on October 12 at the Denver Botanic Gardens.”
Calling all volunteers for the 2017-18 school year
Nationwide, only one in five low-income students is reading proficiently by the fourth grade. Tragically, this translates into nearly nine million low-income elementary school students who are unable to use reading as a foundational skill to power their learning in all other subjects in school. Reading is, quite simply, a necessary platform for all future learning. Without developing the reading skills needed to read on grade level, kids don’t have an equitable chance to succeed in school or in life. Students who can’t read by fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of school or not earn a high school diploma.
In the 2017-18 school year, Reading Partners aims to match 794 community tutors with 580 struggling readers in Colorado. By tutoring a student one-on-one for as little as an hour a week, volunteers can make an impact that can quite literally alter the course of a child’s educational experience and life.
David Klibaner, an attorney in Denver and third year Reading Partners’ tutor at Dora Moore School, is excited to return for the school year: “I believe that Reading Partners is a program that will better society through the students we are helping,” concluded Klibaner. “Helping kids achieve reading proficiency is better for everyone and benefits all of us. Reading Partners has given me more hope for the future and our future generations.”
The impressive student results highlighted in the 2016-17 impact reports are made attainable by the generous participation of thousands of community volunteers. To become a volunteer with Reading Partners, please visit readingpartners.org/volunteer today.
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About Reading Partners
Reading Partners empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. Since its founding, the national nonprofit organization has provided proven, individualized literacy tutoring to nearly 45,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia. Visit readingpartners.org, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, to learn more.
